Which of the following actions is an example of the renaissance idea of
humanism?

a. a politician argues that religious images should not be displayed
in any government building.
b. an artist creates a painting based on his feelings and emotions
rather than themes from ancient greece.
c. a parent encourages her daughter to focus on her own
performance rather than the record of her soccer team.
d. a private high school replaces readings from the bible with the
study of the humanities.

It me to understand the world and my place in it. for example, (and i know i’m using the terminology ‘historical perspective’ loosely here; some of my examples may be better termed an ‘evolutionary perspective’) knowing that all humans can trace their ancestry back to a common ancestor who lived in southern ethiopia ~200,000 years ago makes me feel connected to everyone on the planet. knowing that some of our ancestors left africa about 70,000 years ago and interbred with more archaic hominin species in europe and elsewhere, me to see the stupidity of white supremacist ‘purity of the race’ themes. seeing how religion was used to enslave people, and how callously lives were thrown away by those in power in the world wars of the past century makes me feel extremely fortunate to be living in the modern era. and, perhaps most importantly is that this knowledge makes me for the sacrifices our ancestors made to get us to this point, and determined to do my part to make the world a better place for the next generation.